


Not Quite So Alone

by ununoriginal



Category: NewS (Band)
Genre: Gen, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-10-18
Updated: 2008-10-18
Packaged: 2017-12-15 01:12:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/843580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ununoriginal/pseuds/ununoriginal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Koyama's first evening in Osaka as the new host of Shounen Club.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not Quite So Alone

The first time Koyama goes to Osaka as the new host of Shounen Club is also the first time he goes to Osaka alone.  Of course, there are still other Tokyo Juniors that accompany him, but they aren't K.K.Kity.  It's been more than two months, but there are still moments when he catches himself looking over his shoulder to share an in-joke, only to find an empty space where Shige should have been standing, or when he's in the dressing room, unconsciously keeping an ear open for the mad clatter of Kusano's footsteps as he rushes down the corridor and swings around the door frame.  These days, the hallways are distressingly silent.  
  
It's not too bad when he's in Tokyo, at least he can still call them up and have them over and it would still be kind of like the times before the hiatus, even though he doesn't get to see them at work anymore.  But their absence cuts more keenly now as he exits the glass dome structure that is the lobby of NHK Osaka and stands in front of the steps, debating where he should go next.  Osaka-jou is lit up like a jewel in the center of the park across the street and normally Shige would be spouting some random historical fact he learned in school while Kusano is haranguing them to get a move on so they can hit Shinsaibashi before the shops close.  
  
The night air has gotten a bit chilly and Koyama draws his jacket tighter around himself, allowing himself a tiny sigh.  _Maybe not tonight, Notti._   He has promised Kusano he'll get him something back as a souvenir, but there are still a couple of days left – he'll make it a point to visit the shopping district at least once before he's due to return to Tokyo.  
  
Kawai asked Koyama earlier whether he would like to join the rest of A.B.C. for supper, but Koyama begged off.  It's been shaping up to be one of the rare days when he prefers to just be alone.  
  
He's still trying to recall how to get to the hotel they're putting him up at when he hears someone calling him from behind and turns in surprise to see a skinny figure in a baseball cap leaning against the open glass doors, hands shoved into his jacket pockets.    
  
“Yo, Koyama.”  Ryo waves a little awkwardly with one hand before sticking it back into his pocket again.  “Hina thought he saw you head this way.”  
  
“Nishikido-kun!  I... didn't think I'd see you here.”  He forces a smile for Ryo as he walks up to the shorter man.  
  
Ryo stares at him with his characteristic non-expression before pushing off the doorway and heading back into the lobby.  “Come on, let's go get some supper,” he calls over his shoulder as he strides across to the lifts.  
  
Koyama hurries after him, a little flustered, forgetting that he'd meant to spend the night by himself.  
  
*  
  
“I hope you don't mind it's only leftovers,” Ryo says as he dumps the batter mixed with the ingredients into the frying pan.  
  
Koyama watches rather bemusedly from his seat at the dining table in Ryo's family home as Ryo busies himself at the stove, one hand steadying the pan, while the other flips the okonomiyaki expertly with the spatula he's wielding.  “I never knew you could cook.”  
  
“When my mom realised I would be spending extended periods away from home, she made me learn so I wouldn't have to suffer the travesty of Tokyo cuisine.”  Ryo sprinkles the condiments and then scoops the pancakes onto the plates before turning off the gas.  He unties the apron from around his waist and picks up the steaming plates, bringing them over to the table.  
  
The mouth-watering scent wafting towards Koyama makes him feel hungry for the first time today, and he says “Itadakimasu” eagerly before swiftly digging in.  “Oh!  This is really good,” he manages to get out after a few mouthfuls.  “Thanks, though you shouldn't have gone to the trouble.  I could have got something on the way back to the hotel.”  
  
“I was going to have to fend for myself anyway,”  Ryo waves towards the darkened living room, “everyone's gone up to Niigata for a weekend onsen trip.”  
  
They continue eating in silence.  Koyama wonders absently if he should say something but doesn't really want to, so he concentrates on tearing each bite of his okonomiyaki carefully with his chopsticks instead, and almost misses Ryo's quiet voice asking how everyone else is back in Tokyo.  
  
Ryo doesn't look up after asking the question and he's wolfing down his food with an almost ferocious intensity.  Koyama suspects Ryo's blushing but Ryo's always been too tanned for Koyama to tell for sure.  A fuzzy, comforting warmth is spreading within Koyama, and it's not really from the food.  
  
“Yamashita-kun's quite busy with GYM at the moment, but I guess you know better than me,” Koyama begins.  “Massu told me the other day that the latest plan is for him and Tegoshi to go to _Sweden_ for their CD debut!”  And so the words start flowing, as Koyama shares random anecdotes about events back in Tokyo and Ryo nods, interjecting with a question or comment from time to time.    
  
Ryo gets up to rummage in the fridge for a six-pack of beer and when he returns with the alcohol, Koyama tells Ryo about how he ran into Yamapi on the Meiji campus the other day; how Tegoshi just got his hair straightened for his role in 'My Boss, My Hero' and seems to have become soccer-buddies with Nagase-senpai; how he's not getting to see Shige so often recently because of Shige's drama filming and the intensive cramming Shige's undergoing in preparation for the entrance exams to Aoyama Gakuen's Law faculty.  
  
“Uchi just spoke to me a couple nights ago,” Ryo says as Koyama finally pauses for a breather.  “He's doing pretty alright at the moment – word on the grapevine is there's a chance for him to start doing the musicals again.”  Ryo looks down at his plate and fiddles with his chopsticks.  “How about Kusano?”  
  
“Notti's... not quite so angry anymore,” Koyama takes a sip of his beer before continuing, “he whinges about the training and practices but you know that's just how he is.”  
  
“And what about-- Have you heard anything...” Ryo trails off, and there's a crumpling sound as his beer can folds in a little at the pressure from his grip.  
  
Koyama looks at the dents Ryo's fingers have left in the aluminium, the imprinted logo distorted as a result, and shakes his head mutely.  
  
They finish off the beer amidst the hushed quiet that follows, each in their own thoughts.  When Ryo gets up to clear the plates, Koyama insists on helping to do the dishes.  He's drying off the last plate and placing it back on the rack above the sink when Ryo tells him to stay the night – it's too late anyway, and it's not like Ryo doesn't have the space.  
  
Later, Koyama stretches out on the futon that Ryo's laid out for him, next to Ryo's bed, and pulls the blankets up over himself.  He looks at Ryo, already curled into a ball under the covers, only half his face still visible.  
  
It's the first night Koyama's spent in Osaka without K.K.Kity, but right now, he doesn't feel quite so alone.  
  
“Thanks, Ryo-chan,” Koyama says softly as he closes his eyes.  
  
He thinks he hears Ryo's answering whisper as he is drifting off and falls asleep smiling.


End file.
